Electrical connector

ABSTRACT

An electrical connector with a first housing part receiving socket contacts, and a second housing part receiving knife contacts, where the two parts of the housing can be locked together and released by means of pins or the like, firmly attached to the housing parts. A single U-shaped clamp is mounted on one part of the housing and has legs with linking grooves in the region of board-shaped expansions. The grooves can be swung onto pins of the other housing part. The legs are provided with springy chamfers which, in the release position, are braced as stop elements again that housing part which carries the clamp. A locking hook mounted resiliently on a housing part reaches releaseably into a recess or hole in the cross piece of the clamp when the latter is in the locking position.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an electrical connector with a first housingpart, receiving socket contacts, and with a second housing part,receiving knife contacts, which the two parts of the housing can belocked together and released by means of pins or the like, firmlyattached to the parts of the housing, and pivotable clamps.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a known connectors of this kind, one part of the housing has twoU-shaped clamps, which can be swung with recesses provided in the legsonto pins of the other part of the housing and can be locked by means ofexpansions, formed in the rim surfaces of the recesses as detents, atthese expansions. Apart from the fact the clamps can be operated onlyseparately in succession, whereby it is possible to tilt the parts ofthe housing with respect to each other, the expansions acting as detentsrequire a significant amount of energy to swing on or release theclamps, having a negative mechanical effect on pins and clamps. Inaddition, the detents provided at the clamps do not function reliably.In addition, this known connector is difficult to manipulate due to theindependently uncontrollable swivelling of the clamps before or duringthe plugging operation of the parts of the housing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a connector of theaforementioned type which is designed to simplify the manipulation andto reliably stop the parts of the housing. According to the invention,this object is achieved by arranging of a single U-shaped clamp, whichis pivot-mounted on one part of the housing and which has legs withlinking grooves in the region of the board-shaped expansions and, whichcan be swung onto pins of the other part of the housing. The legs areprovided with springy chamfers, which in the opening position are bracedas stop elements against the part of the housing which carries theclamp, and a cutout, notch, hole or the like, into which a locking hookmounted resiliently on a part of the housing reaches releasably when theclamp is in the locking position, is provided in the cross piece of theclamp. In the case of housing parts whose cross section is substantiallyrectangular, the articulated points for the clamp are preferablyprovided in the narrow sides of the first part of the housing. In thismanner the clamp can be stopped in the open position and locked in thecoupling position, thus enabling both parts of the housing to bepre-plugged without hindrance and by subsequent pivoting of the clamp,with or without additional tightening effect during the pluggingoperation, achieving a reliable contact between socket and knifecontacts as well as locking of the clamp, and, in the coupling position,a reliable stay of the parts of the housing at each other. Since thelocking means are separated from the linking groove or that part of thelegs that acts with the pins, the pins and the clamp remain in anadvantageous manner virtually free of disturbing mechanical stresses.

The springy segments of the clamp allow the formation of a pre-plugposition, where simply strip-shaped chamfers are used in the region ofthe clamp legs, whose one segment is bent in or bent down in thedirection of the first part of the housing and which enable by reachingbehind the first part of the housing with the bent in or bent down partsa resilient fixation. In addition, it has proven to be advantageous ifthe linking grooves exhibit bends, extending at right angles to theswivel planes of the legs, on at least the boundary surfaces reachingbehind the pins. The bends allow the compression of surfaces to be keptto a minimum, thus preventing the boundary surfaces of the linkinggrooves to cut into the circumferential surfaces of the pins, even inthe case of repeated locking operatings.

Finally it is also provided that the locking hook for the clamp isarranged preferably on a strip-shaped extension of the first part of thehousing and the extension is designed counter to the effect of arestoring force to release the locking hook and can be bent down out ofthe cutout, recess, hole or the like of the clamp. To release the clampwith a small amount of energy, it is also provided that the thickness ofa segment of the extension is reduced in comparison to the walls of thepart of the housing. It is obvious that when the clamp is swung into thelocking position, the locking hook is first automatically swung inwardlywith a sloped butting face counter to the restoring force of theextension and subsequently under the influence of the restoring forcealso enters automatically into the cutout, recess or hole of the clamp.By depressing the locking hook and bending down the extension, the clampis freed of the locking forces and can be swung back with a small amountof energy into the releasing position of the parts of the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a connector with two housing parts.

FIG. 2 is a side view and in part a sectional view of a clamp.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a connector.

FIG. 4 is a front view, in part a sectional view, of a first part of thehousing of a connector.

FIG. 5 is a top view, in part a sectional view, of a first part of thehousing; and

FIG. 6 is a front view of a second part of the housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a first part 1 of the housing, which receives a number ofsocket contacts 2 in openings 3. The socket contacts 2 are fixed inposition in the openings 3 by means of extensions 4, which can be bentin and can be fixed into the bent-in position by means of sliders 5(FIG. 3). A second part 6 of the housing receives a number of knifecontacts 7, as shown in to FIGS. 3 and 7. As evident from FIGS. 1 and 3,the two parts 1 and 6 of the housing can be plugged together, the knifecontacts 7 entering the socket contacts 2. At the housing part 1, aU-shaped clamp 9, whose legs 9' comprise expansions 9" with linkinggrooves 10, is pivotably-mounted on pin 8. The clamp 9 can be slid withthe linking grooves 10 on pins 11 provided at the second housing part 6(FIGS. 4 and 6), so that an optional tightening movement is exerted onthe second housing part 6, pre-plugged at the housing part 1. The clamp9 is stopped in the release position or in the pre-plug position of thehousing part 6 by means of strip-shaped chamfers 12 projecting into thecutouts 19, whereby the chamfers 12 reach with bend-ins 12' behind thehousing part 1.

By swivelling the clamp 9 out of the release position, (showning solidlines in FIG. 1) into the locking position, shown in dash-dotted lines,the pins 11 of the housing part 6 slide into the linking grooves 10,thus locking together the housing parts 1, 6 while assuming the finalposition. A recess 13, into which a locking hook 14 automaticallysprings when the clamp 9 is in the locking position (FIG. 3), isprovided in the cross piece 9"' of the clamp 9. The locking hook 14prevents the clamp 9 from swinging back unintentionally. If it isdesired that the clamp 9 swings back for the purpose of separating theparts 1, 6 of the housing, a pressure force must be exerted from the topon the locking hook 16, whereby the strip-shaped extension 15 carryingthe locking hook 14 is bent inwardly and the clamp 9 can be released.Expediently the linking grooves 10 are defined in the region of theboundary surfaces, reaching behind the pins 11, by bends 16, whichreduce the surface compression between the pins 11 and the clamp 9.Furthermore, the regions of the expansions 9" that can be guided infront of the pins 11 have other bends 17, which serve to stabilize orfasten the expansions 9". It is obvious that preferably the locking hook14 is mounted on an extension 15, which is deposited at least over onesegment, optionally opposite the walls of the housing part 1, in orderto keep the contact force for the locking hook 14 at a minimum.

Finally it is also provided in order to lock the housing parts 1,6reliably, to swivel the parts of the expansions 9' that reach behind thepins 11 into extensions 18 of the first housing part that serve asguides, thus ruling out any unintentional lateral deflection of theexpansions 9', which could result in a release of the pins 11.

We claim:
 1. An electrical connector with a first housing part receivingsocket contacts, and a second housing part receiving knife contacts,pins attached to said housing parts for locking together and releasingsaid housing parts, and a single U-shaped clamp mounted on one of saidhousing parts for pivoting motion about an axis between a release and alocking position, said clamp comprising legs and a cross piece, saidlegs having board-shaped expansions containing linking grooves whichhave boundary surfaces and can be swung onto pins of the other housingpart, the legs being provided with springy chamfers which, in a releaseposition, are braced as stop elements against that housing part whichcarries said clamp, said cross piece having a recess or hole releasablyengaged by a locking hook mounted resiliently on a housing part whensaid clamp is in a locking position, at least said boundary surfacesreaching behind said pins having bends extending at right angles to aswivel plane defined by said legs.
 2. The connector as claimed in claim1, wherein said clamp is mounted on said first housing part.
 3. Theconnector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing parts havesubstantially rectangular cross sections, and articulated points forsaid clamp are provided in opposite narrow sides of said first housingpart.
 4. The connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said chamfers arestrip-shaped and have a sublength which is bent in a direction of saidfirst housing part.
 5. The connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidclamp is formed by means of a shaped sheet metal piece with attachmentbeads in a region of said cross piece and said legs.
 6. The connector asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said clamp is formed by means of a shapedsheet metal piece with attachment beads in a region of said legs.
 7. Theconnector as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one sublength ofsegments of said legs which can be guided in front of said pins havebends extending at right angles to said swivel plane.
 8. The connectoras claimed in claim 1, wherein those parts of said expansions whichreach behind said pins can be swung into extensions of said firsthousing part serving as guides.
 9. The connector as claimed in claim 1,wherein said locking hook is arranged on a strip-shaped extension ofsaid first housing part and said extension can be bent down against arestoring force to release said locking hook from said recess or hole.10. The connector as claimed in claim 9, wherein a segment of saidextension is reduced in thickness relative to the walls of said firsthousing.